Rising From Wreckage: Starfall's Epic Comeback

ght. It hammered against the asphalt li

lt the impact be

ated through her teeth and settled deep in her bone marrow. Then came the slam. Her s

ing, broken only by the rhythmic, mo

but a warm, sticky liquid was already trickling down her temple, stinging her eye. S

oo

ed through the shock. She ne

seat. The screen was cracked, a spiderweb of glass over the wallpaper she had set three years ago-a p

he speed dial

ce. Twice.

ine, a thin thread connecting her to the o

l disco

pressed the wrong button. Or maybe the signal was bad in the storm. H

as answered on

e. It was smooth, professional, and utterly

a broken rasp. She coughed, tasting

crisis," Liam said. He sounded like he was reading from a

er head was throbbing now, a drumbeat in time with her ra

hand over the receiver. Then, Liam's voice returned, but t

. Wilson says...

ed. Tears mixed with t

pping an octave. "He said, and I quote, 'Hang up. Tell he

ne wen

, listening to the hollow drone of the disconnect tone. It was lo

ht she w

ut on the side of the I-9

tered onto the floor mat. She leaned her head ba

ousness and a nightmare. She felt hands on her, efficient and impersonal. They strapped her t

r forehead. She had refused the local anesthetic. She needed the sting. She needed to know she was still in her bo

Another inch and you'd have lost the eye. Where is your husband? We n

," Analia lied. The

n the wall was broadcasting entertainment news. The vol

N SPOTTED AT THE PLAZ

breath

husband, was ushering a petite woman into a waiting limousine. He had his su

was etched with a frantic, raw concern that Analia

one that got away. The one who was currently

time on the screen.

her steering wheel, begging for help, Clive

nd like snapping glass. It wasn't a loud b

oom spun, but she

f," she told the nurse who

houldn't drive," the nurse

ot dri

een was shattered, but it still worked. She scr

pped at

resse

rounded by the ambient noise of a TV

rrifyingly steady. "I need you to pick me up

t out instantly. "I'm coming. I'm in the car. Is C

here the limousine was driving away. "He's not

oftening instantly. "Okay, ho

The rain hadn't stopped. It soaked through her thin blou

or a scandal. They didn't even raise their cameras for her. To them, she was nob

b. It was a stark contrast to the sleek black town cars

like stale french fries and vanilla

bed Analia's freezing hand, and squeezed it hard. "We

ity blurred past. The pain in her hea

buzzed i

from

o home. I'll deal

ould have typed a paragraph of apology. She

ed the power button and